The present invention relates to a blade structure for a torque converter and a process for producing the blade structure.
Torque converters are equipped with a plurality of blades that are mounted to a shell of a pump impeller or turbine runner in order to transmit power via fluid. Conventionally, the blades are assembled to the shell one by one, thereby causing increase in working time.
For the purpose of solving the above problem, there has been proposed a process of forming a blade member from a single steel sheet in which a plurality of blades are integrally connected with each other. Japanese Patent Application First Publication No. 9-042413 discloses such a blade member and a process of forming the blade member as explained above.